Former Presidents Bill Clinton And George H. W. Bush Hang Out In Houston And Share Socks
Former President Bill Clinton has been spending time with his predecessor and one-time political rival George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara. Clinton tweeted a picture of the pair together at the Bush’s home in Houston, Texas, handing his predecessor a pair of socks to add to his infamous collection.
According to the Telegraph, in a tweet on Sunday, Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States and husband to 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said that they “caught up about kids, grandkids, old times and new times. And socks.” In the attached photograph, Clinton can be seen handing over a pair of new socks to Bush.
Great to spend time with @GeorgeHWBush & Mrs. Bush in Houston today. We caught up about kids, grandkids, old times and new times. And socks. pic.twitter.com/CshV6tI5Ae
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) April 9, 2017
After serving as the 43rd Vice President of the United States under Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush served one term as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. In the 1992 presidential election, he went head to head with then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. Clinton secured both a plurality in the popular vote and a wide Electoral College margin, with George H. W. Bush leaving office having only served one term. As of 2016, this is the most recent election in which an incumbent president was unseated.
According to Heavy, when Bush handed over the presidency to Clinton, he left a heartfelt letter for his predecessor, which Hillary Clinton later shared. In the letter, Bush set aside the pair’s previous rivalry to wish his predecessor luck in the job that he had held for four years.
There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice, but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course,” Bush wrote. “Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting for you.”
RELATED STORIES ON INQUISITR:
In Her First Post-Election Interview, Hillary Clinton Reveals That She Won’t Run For Office Again
Bernie Sanders Podcast: Former Presidential Hopeful Brings His Talk Show To iTunes
Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Slipping Among White Men, Will Syrian Strike Mean Bump In Popularity?
Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush’s friendship is believed to have blossomed in the years after the pair had both left office. Bush and Clinton worked together on relief efforts for the 2005 Asian tsunami at the request of Bush’s son and Clinton’s successor, President George W. Bush.
After the trip, Bush wrote in a letter to journalist Hugh Sidney, “I thought I knew him, but until this trip, I did not really know him.”
In an interview with Parade, former First Lady Barbara Bush said that Clinton has become like a member of their family thanks to his close friendship with both George H. W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush. In fact, Clinton even looks up to Bush like a father, Barbara claims.
“‘[My] brother by another mother,’ the boys call him,” Barbara Bush said. “But he’s very nice – I think he thinks of George as the father he never had. Truthfully. I mean that as a compliment. He’s been very thoughtful about calling and he’s a good fellow.”
In January, George H. W. Bush was hospitalized for two weeks with pneumonia and unable to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The inauguration was attended by each of Trump’s other living predecessors, including George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and outgoing president Barack Obama.
Mr. Bush has a form of Parkinson’s disease and uses a motorized scooter or a wheelchair for mobility.
Bill Clinton’s spouse and Donald Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton also attended the inauguration in January this year.
[Featured Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
